20 years of neighborhood service

November 9, 2012

BLACKFOOT — Miles and Angela Clark have owned and operated the Blackfoot Chevron for the last 20 years.
“I have been working shifts at a gas station since I was 13. I started working at one when I was 9.” said Miles of his career. Miles started working for his dad who had a gas station in Burley. His father eventually purchased the ground to build a Chevron station in Blackfoot in 1992 and Miles and Angela purchased it from Mile’s dad.
“We started with the Chevron modular building, a pre-built station provided by Chevron. It got pretty small pretty quick.” said Miles.
Sixteen years later, the Clarks expanded the station to the spacious stucco and rock facility they have now. “We tore down the old car wash and started building.” said Miles. The Clarks also added a coffee shop and cafe.
“It was always something in the back of our minds that we wanted to do,” said Miles. “A place for people to come and chat and enjoy the atmosphere.” The concept for the shop was born through Angela, her sister and the Clark’s daughter Hailie. “They said ‘what if’ and it just went from there,” he said. “
The coffee shop was named XII Stones during the tentative phases and the name stuck. It took about two years to accumulate ideas for the coffee shop, cafe and C-store.
Miles said, “We researched a lot of coffee shops and the types of products that we wanted to serve.” The Clarks offer products like panini sandwiches, breakfast burritoes and specialty coffees.
“I don’t think people realize all that we have here.” said Angela. “We bake it all here.” said Miles of their menu items. “It’s a bit more healthy. We cook things in olive oil and all our breakfast food including the sausage is baked, not fried.”
The Clarks are actively involved in the community. Miles served as a reserve deputy for the county and assisted on search and rescue. Angela has participated with the Christmas Tree Fantasy for 11 years and with Blackfoot Pride Days. Currently the couple is actively involved with an outreach program through their faith that provides support for low-income individuals inside Blackfoot.
“Our goal really is to have a business that provides an income so we can put back into the community with programs like these.” said Angela of the outreach program.
The Clarks incorporate that attitude into their stores. “We want a neighborhood attitude.” said Angela
The Clarks don’t just own the business; they are a part of it. Miles often opens the stores and works the kitchen and Angela can be found behind the counter working the till. Their two children Hailie and Jake grew up in the store.
“Jake used to fall asleep under the counter.” Miles said of his son.
“After 20 years, you make a lot of friends that are customers.” said Angela “You get on a first name basis and you know their stories.”
“Some of them having been customers for the entire 20 years.” said Miles. “People, especially now are looking for a place that is peaceful.” said Angela.
The coffee shop/ cafe offers a peaceful cozy environment that people come together to share their day, read the paper and enjoy a hot coffee. XII Stones also offers free Wi-fi and the Clarks will soon include new menu items like a steak panini, scones, protein "shakeology" drinks and comfort foods like roast and potatoes.
“We want a menu that will allow us to stay open later.” said Angela. Recently, XII Stones just got an on premise license for beer and wine.
XII Stones is open Monday-Friday 5 a.m.- 5 p.m., Saturday 7 a.m.- 3 p.m. and Sunday 7 a.m.-1 p.m. The Blackfoot Chevron has the attached coffee shop with entrance through the store or on the north side of the building at 1245 Parkway Drive. Menu items can be found online at xiistone.com and can also be found on Facebook. The phone number is 785-3730 and call in orders are welcome.
Miles and Angela would like to give a very special thank you to the community for their support the last 20 years and they look forward to serving the community for many more years.